


I Hope It's Cold in New York

by KUR0CK3T



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Angst, Engagement, Heartbreak, Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou Friendship, KuroKen - Freeform, KuroKen Bestfriends, KuroKen Cuddle Time, Kuroo Tetsurou Being a Dumbfuck, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, M/M, Oneshot, There will be some massive damage, Tsukishima Kei Being a Homewrecker, Tsukishima Kei Being an Asshole, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, kurotsukki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:27:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29152764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KUR0CK3T/pseuds/KUR0CK3T
Summary: kuroo and kenma have always been friends for forever and are very close. kenma knew they had something between them that can no longer be identified as friendship. kenma thought he has met kuroo, his soulmate, and that was it. until tsukishima.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Kudos: 8





	I Hope It's Cold in New York

**Author's Note:**

> this oneshot was inspired by the wrecks' "i hope it's cold in new york".
> 
> [ youtube.com/watch?v=sTrD2UDakLs ]

“kenma, are you doing laundry?” kuroo called out on his way towards the bathroom. they’ve shared the same apartment for a few years now, but kuroo had to move out last year because of his work. he was only staying over for a week to visit kenma.

“mm.” the younger answered with a quiet hum. kuroo probably did not hear it but the both of them knew there was a conversation. kenma was dumping the first group of clothes to wash in the machine, sneaking a whiff of the scent that kuroo left on one of his shirts.

“god damn it, i’ve ran out of underwear.” kuroo clicked his tongue before he pulled off his hoodie and dropped it in the laundry basket beside the machine, leaving him topless. “hey, i’m using yours.”

kenma’s sharp gaze was quick to meet kuroo’s face yet the other was slightly bent over from taking his pants off, so kenma ended up glaring at his head instead. “just wait for the laundry to get done and use yours.”

kuroo glanced up and flashed a keen smirk. “oya, oya, oya. what’s this? a sudden change of heart?” he threw his pants at the basket just in time kenma picked up the hoodie. “it’s not like i stink. still sulking i’m only staying for a week?”

“shut up.” kenma retorted, having to take the pants as well.

“c’mon, it’s my last day. be nice to me.” kuroo attempted to coo his words, getting a hold of kenma’s head and pretending like he was about to take a bite on it as he opened his mouth wide and mumbled ‘ahh’. the color of the younger’s head always reminded him of pudding.

“it’s your last day, i can’t have you taking my underwear with you when you have to go.” kenma simply responded, only letting kuroo do whatever he wanted to do with his head. his eyes caught the sight of their reflection in the mirror by the sink. just the thought of wanting kuroo to wrap his arms around his small frame made his face get flushed. it was just one simple move, why won’t kuroo do it? and remembering kuroo was only in his underwear made kenma even redder. kuroo noticed, but misinterpreted.

“all right, i won’t use your underwear. geez, don’t need to get mad.” kuroo stifled a small laugh, now running his fingers through kenma’s soft hair from underneath, subtly pressing his fingertips on the scalp.  


kenma shivered like a cat from the touch, causing him to swiftly budge away and glare at kuroo more. kuroo had to let his laugh out. he liked how kenma looked when pissed off and seemed like fume was coming from his little head.

“shut up!” kenma growled and threw the basket at the taller man without any hesitations.

kuroo, of course, caught the basket with ease and carried on with his joy of seeing kenma pissed. he then brought the basket back down on the floor.

“you piss me off.” kenma stated the obvious. “just take your underwear off and use a towel or something.”

“all right, all right.” kuroo emitted one last huff of his laughter before following what he was told. once the clothing was off, he tossed it right into the basket, which kenma had to get again, and stood in front of the mirror with so much confidence. his hands were on his hips and his legs were wide open, looking like an idiot as he hooted at himself.

kenma appeared like he was about to implode from the agitation and all the nakedness that were happening before his eyes. he scolded kuroo by telling him to shut it and aggressively throwing a towel at his head. “stay out of my sight. dumbass.”

“oi, kenma.” kuroo immediately called, finally composing himself and using the towel to cover up. “don’t forget about tonight. dress nicely.” he reminded with a huge grin.

“it’s not like i’m going anywhere anyway.” kenma uttered underneath his breath and left the room with a slight, frustrated frown.

kenma did dress nicely, but he was utterly confused. kuroo took him to the train station. what were they going to do at the train station all dressed up like they were about to have a nice dinner date?

“what exactly are we supposed to do here?” kenma tilted his head up at kuroo who was making little and subtle bounces while looking around as if he was searching for someone.

“don’t worry about it, you’ll see.” kuroo’s plain response. “c’mon. where is he…”

he? kenma thought. what was kuroo up to? was another person joining them? what was going on? it was boosting his anxiousness and it was not making him feel okay. his fingers were fidgeting inside the pockets of his coat.

“tsukki!” kuroo’s voice enthusiastically exclaimed, his arm making big waves and his lips smiling widely ahead.

'tsukki? who…'

kenma tried to divert his eyes where kuroo’s excitement was happily pointing at. there was a tall, blond guy which he suspected to be approaching them. the guy didn’t seem to be impressed by kuroo’s outburst but his eyes were telling otherwise.

“keep it down.” the tsukki guy scolded, taking kuroo’s hand that was high up in the air and bringing it down, and holding it briefly.

kenma stared at the exchange. who was this guy? why did the atmosphere suddenly feel so strange?

“you must be kenma.” the odd tower spoke again, holding out a hand as he introduced himself. “tsukishima kei. nice to finally meet you.”

“ah-” kenma froze for a moment and functioned once again when he saw kuroo expectantly looking at him. “kenma kozume. nice to meet you, too.”

'tsukishima.'

turned out, kenma and kuroo won’t be alone for dinner. it wasn’t supposed to be a dinner date, kenma figured. he was behind the two most of the time; as if they would forget there was another person with them. he hated how it felt like kuroo wasn’t noticing it. like kuroo has forgotten about him. he had speculations about the odd tower and he was extremely bothered by them because kuroo wasn’t saying anything else, really. it was just the introduction then about the dinner. also, he spotted the two were wearing the same ring but nothing was said about that fact. kuroo was pissing him off more than usual.

the dinner began and the conversations were mainly focused on kuroo and tsukishima, like they were trying to catch up and not bothering to include kenma. kenma felt like shit, but he was afraid to open his mouth and ask why, what, who this tsukishima was then get the answer. he wanted to know so badly yet he didn’t want to at the same time.

“kenma, how’s the food?” tsukishima suddenly said.

“it’s good.” kenma answered.

“i thought it wasn’t. you seem uninterested.” tsukishima bluntly responded.

“tsukki.” kuroo’s tone was a tad stern but was still soft.

“i’m sorry. just trying to break the ice.” tsukishima laughed it off, though kenma could sense the smugness of this guy.

“who are you, exactly?” kenma retorted.

“ah, kuroo-chan hasn’t told you yet. i see.” tsukishima slowly nodded his head. on the other hand, kuroo was wishing tsukishima wasn’t saying everything he was thinking out loud.

“tell me what?” kenma hastily looked at kuroo, his eyes open wider as if they were trying to yank out the information from kuroo, immediately.

kuroo cleared his throat and straightened up. “tsukishima and i are engaged.”

the spoon made a thud as it hit the plate but kenma was still holding it. his lower lip was starting to shake but he bit on it from the inside to stop it. until he was doing it too hard and he could taste the iron. “…engaged?”

“yeah.” kuroo’s happiness was so prominent kenma wanted to rip off that huge smile from his face with the knife beside his plate. but the look on tsukishima’s made his insides boil. he was more than overwhelmed. then again, being himself and not wanting to seem like he was overly affected by the news in an incredibly bad way, kenma pulled a forced smile and congratulated the two.

kuroo moved out and away, and barely visited, and this shit was what he got? he has been patient and this was how it would be in the end? has he been looking at their relationship the wrong way? was he the only one? he hated himself for assuming and believing there could be something more. he hated kuroo for leading him on. he hated himself for letting himself get swayed by kuroo’s actions. he hated how much of an ass tsukishima was. he hated kuroo and tsukishima being together. he hated everything.

“when’s the wedding?” kenma’s voice took down a notch and got quieter. he couldn’t look up or he would burst, so he focused his eyes on the plate in front of him. he has totally lost his appetite and was just playing with his food now.

“well, we’re planning to get married in the middle of the year.” kuroo was being such an ass too for not catching up with the change in kenma’s mood or how he was currently behaving. kenma wanted to whip him by the collar and punch his face until the rigorous pang in his chest was gone.

“middle of the year.” kenma mumbled, parting his food in the middle. “that’s in a month.” his own words surprised him. the grip on his spoon tightened and the lump in his throat worsened. he didn’t want to hear anymore of this bullshit, but he knew there were more bombs to drop.

“we’re very excited. we hope to see you there, kenma.” tsukishima butted in. his face was turned to kuroo yet his eyes were side-eyeing kenma.

“of course he’s going to be there, kei.” kuroo chuckled; face lit up and eyes sparkling at tsukishima.

“when… when did you guys start dating? i never heard anything from you.” kenma managed to push through his words, glancing over at kuroo to let him know he was the one being asked. that was another thing that broke him most. kuroo never mentioned anything about tsukishima. why did he have to keep everything a secret? they tell each other everything then this smug blond comes in the scene.

“it was last year. kuroo—“ tsukishima was cut off.

“i’m talking to kuro right now.” kenma snapped, but still appeared calm.

kuroo gave tsukishima a look while he held his hand at the same time, signaling that he’d be taking care of it. “we met last year when i was job hunting. he helped me a lot and we got to spend a lot of time together, and then i asked him out. then things went off from there.”

kenma was dumbfounded. kuroo and he practically spent their lives together, but kuroo never thought of asking him out? was he really reading their relationship wrong all along? he thought his reactions to kuroo’s leading behavior were so obvious. or was kuroo just used to it that he thought kenma would never, not even once, consider his actions flirting?

“i know i should’ve told you—“ kuroo began to speak again.

“then why did you not?” kenma maintained the calmed mask, but the pressure was heavy.

“i was afraid of how you were going to react.” kuroo admitted. “i told kei about it and he said we should wait for the right time, and that he’d be with me when i tell you.”

'bullshit. kuroo could be this much of a dumbass? did he think announcing their engagement first was a better idea? a fucking moron. fucking idiot.' kenma grumbled in his head. the betrayal.

“that’s… that’s great. it’s not like we’re best friends or anything.” kenma drizzled sardonicism in his tone and added a little scoff of laughter.

“we’re sorry, kenma.” tsukishima had a concerned expression, but kenma knew that was just his fake ass. “well, i am. i know this must’ve been very shocking and hard for you, but i was just being considerate of kuroo’s feelings.”

that was the last string. kenma jolted up and slammed the spoon on the table, his head down as he spoke. “i need to go to the bathroom.”

“you can stay in your old room. it’s going to be a hassle if you guys would go to a hotel at this hour.” kenma suggested for the sake of being kind and he hoped kuroo would decline it. the sight of the couple made him sick. he didn’t want to be near them, yet he didn’t want them to be away either. he was torn. he also desired to keep an eye on them. he was confused himself.

“that’s actually a good idea. what do you think?” kuroo slightly twisted his body to face tsukishima, even taking his hand to hold while he was waiting for an answer.  
kenma cursed in his head nonstop. how could he forget he had to cry himself to sleep tonight? now, he was certainly wishing for a turn down right away. he needed the whole apartment for his loud bawling and he wouldn’t want the two to hear it, no?

“that sounds more convenient.” tsukishima glided his fingers and interlaced them with kuroo’s. he just had to. “since your stuff is here already, too. we could leave without any problem tomorrow.”

kenma’s jaw clenched harder than they’ve ever clenched. “i’ll be in my room.” he was about to leave.

“ah, kenma.” kuroo stepped forward and closer to him. “thank you.” he showed a smile and gave kenma’s hair a little ruffle.

the part where kuroo had touched burnt. kenma wanted that same old warm, huge hand to stay on his head. he wanted kuroo to hold him. he wanted kuroo to stay.

“yeah,” another forced smile from kenma before he was off to his bedroom.

as soon as the door was shut, he instantly broke down on the floor. what was he going to do at this point? was there even anything he could do? was letting go the only thing left?

not even ten minutes in his breakdown a knock on his door startled him. “kenma.”

'leave me alone.'

another knock. “kenma. can we talk?” kuroo planted his ear on the door, wondering if the younger was already asleep.

kenma could do this in two ways. he could either hide or compose himself and open the door. he tried getting up but he couldn’t. he was practically drained in any possible ways.

“kenma?” that was the last call. kuroo decided to turn the knob and carefully push the door open. he couldn’t push any farther because there was something blocking it from the inside. though he managed to stick his head in and look around. “oh- kenma?”

kuroo was quick to squish himself between the narrow gap and slide in. he was shocked to see kenma on the floor with his hands on his mouth, breathing hardly and shaking.

“kenma!” kuroo rushed down on the floor and took a hold of the younger, worrisome all over his face. “hey, what happened? what’s wrong?” his hands were holding on kenma’s shoulders to keep him sitting up.

kenma’s sobs were too much his whole body was shaking. he couldn’t even see from all the tears. he was hesitating, but what if this could be the last? so he went for it. he swung his arms wide and hooked them around kuroo’s neck.

“please… please…”

“i’m here.” kuroo coaxed and embraced kenma. the younger was so little his arms hid him. “it’s okay.” he hushed, rubbing kenma’s back.

“no. no, it’s not. please, kuro. please.” kenma quietly cried at him, his hands gripping on kuroo’s shirt tightly. “please. don’t go.” he begged, the horrible sobs making some of his words incoherent.

“kenma,” kuroo placed his hand on the back of kenma’s head, not exactly knowing what to do. “i’m here.”

“no. you’re not. you’re leaving. you’re leaving me.” kenma’s sobs worsened. “don’t leave me.”

“i’m not leaving you forever, kenma.” kuroo held kenma’s cheek and attempted to look at him, yet the younger insisted to hide his face on kuroo’s shoulder.

“you are.” kenma began to sound like a kid. his bawling gradually became louder and he cared less. he didn’t care if tsukishima would hear him from the other room.

kuroo only held kenma and hoped he would calm down soon. the two were just sitting on the floor, quietly curled up in a cuddle with kenma still crying his heart out. on the other  
hand, kuroo was holding back his tears. he knew how painful it must’ve been for kenma because of his dumb ass. but it was too late.

“kuro.” kenma sniffed, his shoulders constantly bouncing from the sobbing though his tears already stopped. “can you stay with me tonight?” he almost broke down again after those words slipped from his mouth.

it was quiet for a moment. kuroo’s embrace tightened around kenma.

“okay.” kuroo whispered. maybe that could make up for everything. maybe that could tone down the heart break. maybe it would.

kenma gripped on kuroo’s shirt once again. “kuro.”

“mm?” kuroo leaned down and rested his chin on kenma’s shoulder, eyes on the floor.

“i love you.”

“i love you, too.”

'but we’re too late.'


End file.
